Spiffy:

Iffy:

Where's Alfred?; Investigation mode highlights seem to make puzzles a bit on the easy side.

Yesterday we got a chance to check out Batman: Arkham Asylum, a brawler with stealth elements from Eidos and Warner Bros., and it's clear that developer Rocksteady is digging deeply into the vast mythos of the Dark Knight. Pulling from the fiction established in Batman's comic book incarnations, Arkham Asylum draws vocal talent from Warner's animated series. From what we saw, Mark Hamill is hamming it up like crazy as he reprises his role as the hilariously homicidal Joker. Arkham Asylum will focus on three basic pillars of Batman's identity: his melee brawling skills, his investigative sleuthing skills, and his clandestine sneaking abilities.

BAM, THOCK, WHUMP

It all begins with Batman escorting the Joker into Arkham Asylum, which is all part of yet another nefarious plot that terminates in the Joker's reigning over Gotham City. The lynchpin in this scheme hinges on the release of Arkham's coterie of crazy villains, and while only Harley Quinn, Victor Zsasz and Killer Croc have been confirmed, we were assured that a great many of Batman's formerly-imprisoned foes will make cameos. Batman's famous enemies have all undergone considerable makeovers thanks to comic artist extraordinaire Jim Lee's Wildstorm studio, so Killer Croc is now a towering fifteen-foot-tall monstrosity while Harley Quinn sports a nurses uniform that is equal parts bikini and bondage gear.

In short order, the Joker and Harley succeed in freeing the inmates (which includes some of the Joker's own crew transferred from another prison thanks to a mysterious fire) and havoc ensues. At this point we were able to see the game's melee combat system, which is designed for engaging multiple enemies with ease. Basic brawler mechanics seem to apply with one button (X for 360, Square for PS3) used to throw punches or kicks depending on context (a sharp roundhouse kick typically finishes a three- or four-button-press combo) and another (Y button for 360 and Triangle for PS3) button executes counter attacks. Always accessible are Batman's trademark batarangs (you get an infinite supply), which has an optional chase camera, just for fun.

Dubbed the FreeFlow combat system, Batman's moves seemed mostly ad-hoc and appeared to string together contextually as opposed to having discreet moves mapped to individual buttons. Also apparent was Batman's ability to battle numerous enemies at the same time; although we only saw him take on four at once, we were told that the combat system will enable him to fight up to fifteen thugs at the same time. Given his penchant for knocking down two or more brawlers with a single punch, this claim seemed to be within the scope of reason.